Morning Blues
by cutiesonthehorizon
Summary: Connor finds Will playing guitar on the roof.


A/N: Written for the_milky_way, for the chocolatebox challenge. I tried to stay close to the prompt, hope you'll enjoy it. Also want to thank my beta Argallel for her great job. All mistakes left are mine.

The day was finally heading to an end - at least the nightmarish night shift - and Connor stifled a yawn. All he wanted was to leave the hospital behind. He wanted to forget the huge car crash pileup the ED faced along with its usual assortment of colds, drunk or drugged people, and general shenanigans. The fact this was an extra shift where he was just jumping in for someone else was kind of poetic. 'No good deed goes unpunished,' Connor thought bitterly. He was looking forward to the following two days he had off, but first he needed to stop at the bank and take care of some business in the city before he could crash in bed and sleep. Problem was, the city was still half asleep and he had to kill another hour. So, grabbing a cup of coffee from the vending machine and heading up to the roof to watch the sun come up in the crisp morning sounded like a nice idea.

And it seemed that someone else had the same idea.

First, Connor heard the gentle tones of a guitar, then low singing. He didn't know the song and he wasn't close enough to really understand the words, so he walked further up. Turning the corner, he spotted Will Hallstead, sitting on a bench by the wall, playing a guitar. Connor raised an eyebrow questioningly and sipped his coffee, listening as Will finished the song and looked up at him.

"Hell of a night," Will said a bit bitterly, but Connor noticed that he sounded a little calmer than he did two hours ago when he was working on the drunk driver that caused the whole pileup.

"Yeah," Connor agreed, leaning against the railing and looking over at the city. It was beautiful, the sun licking the top of the skyscrapers, the streets below starting to fill with life. "You did well," he commented and Will snorted, knowing he wasn't referring to his medical proves, but rather the fact he managed to keep a cool head even after the drunk driver started spouting nonsense.

"I so wanted to deck that jerk, you wouldn't believe it." Will put down the guitar, then stood up and walked over to Connor, watching the sky lighten up.

"I doubt there was anyone in the room who didn't want to," Connor admitted. He was the on-call surgeon for the night shift and had the pleasure to sew up the driver, along with two of his victims, who were less lucky. Connor clenched his hands as the pent-up anger washed over him once again. He hissed as some of the hot coffee sloshed onto his skin. Connor shook it off his hand, then took a careful sip from the cup.

"I would've thought you'd be halfway home by now." Will changed the subject and Connor shook his head.

"Nah. Need to take care of some stuff in the city, but it's too early. I thought getting some fresh air would help keep me awake. The music seems an added bonus," he said with a smile, and Will blushed.

"Yeah... Dr. Lee from pediatrics borrowed my guitar last week and finally decided to return it... I thought it better to play here than at my apartment. My neighbors are a little bit less appreciative of morning blues than the hospital pigeons."

"Your neighbors are unappreciative jerks," Connor said with a lopsided grin and Will grinned too.

"I liked the song, though I haven't heard it before."

"It's... kind of my own. I used to play it for Jay when we needed to relax." Will didn't elaborate and Connor didn't dare to ask. He knew both Will and Jay had a turbulent childhood, growing up in one of the less stellar neighborhoods, without a mother.

"I never tried writing my own songs- just not my jam," Connor admitted and Will looked at him, curious.

"You play guitar too?" he asked, sounding surprised.

Connor frowned."What's wrong with that?"

"Uh, nothing. Just... pegged you more as a piano guy. You know, with being a surgeon and all..."

"You mean rich, right?" Connor corrected him and let Will stew a bit, thinking he hit a nerve. When Will looked just about ready to apologize or say something else, Connor snorted.

"Nah, you're right. I started out playing the piano, "Connor admitted.

"Started out?"

He shrugged.

"I grew up rich; I can't change that. Of course, my parents wanted to give me and Claire every opportunity to better ourselves. Though the piano... that was mom's thing. I remember we always had a piano, a black grand Steinway in the living room. It was really impressive, especially for a small kid that could barely reach the pedals," Connor said with a small smile. He hadn't thought about that piano for quite some time... his father got rid of the thing several weeks after his mother's suicide. He remembered Claire throwing a hissy fit... playing the piano was her thing and she loved the Steinway. The next day, she had a small Petrof in her room and Connor often heard her playing it from his room, though never when their father was home.

"I take it you didn't stick with the keys?" Will pulled him back from the memory and Connor grimaced.

"I wasn't that good at it, truth be told. Claire was much better and well... I thought it was more of a girl's thing. I was nine and I just discovered Rolling Stones and rock and roll, Christmas was coming and Mom asked what present I wanted."

"So you asked for a guitar, "Will guessed.

"Nah, I wanted to play the drums," Connor said with a glint in his eyes and a smirk. Will had to laugh at the thought of Connor playing the drums and driving his father crazy. He'd met the guy and he wholeheartedly approved the idea to drive him up the wall. "But I guess dad vetoed it, so mom got me a guitar. The deal was if I can stick with it for at least two months, the piano lessons would stop. The guitar was a Stinger, blood red and I loved the thing to death.

"Man, I would've killed for a Stinger when I was a kid." Will shook his head and grinned. "So... you still have it?"

"No, it broke when I was fifteen," Connor said and Will sensed the change in his mood. That guitar must've meant a lot to Connor, especially after his mom was gone.

"So... you already heard me playing. It's only fair if I hear you too, huh?" Will said, hoping he could change Connor's mood. By the look of contemplation on the surgeons' face, there was a chance he would even take him up on the offer.

"Come on," Will pushed. "I showed you mine, you show me yours?"

Connor laughed out loud and patted Will on the arm.

"I think it's supposed to mean something else, but you're right. I could even use the practice." Connor finished his coffee and handed the empty cup to Will, who rolled his eyes. Then he sat down on the bench Will had occupied earlier and took the guitar in his hands, trying out its weight and sound.

"Any requests?" he asked with a smirk.

"Surprise me," Will said and had to bite his tongue when Connor did just that and started playing _Hit the Road Jack_. While he fumbled a bit at the start, Connor's fingers quickly got used to the strings and he had a smile playing on his lips and a twinkle in his eyes as he played the song. He was reaching the first verse and decided that maybe Will shouldn't be the only one scaring the hospital pigeons and he rather liked the sound of the guitar, so he started singing as well. The look on Will's face was priceless and Connor had to look away or he would have started laughing instead of focusing on the song itself.

"Okay, well, that wasn't so bad," Will said when Connor finished, returning the guitar to its rightful owner.

"Thanks. I think I needed that," Connor admitted, feeling a sudden hankering for his old Stinger, but pushing it away. He had a perfectly good classical Martin stashed somewhere in his father's house... maybe he could ask Claire to bring it to him next time she visited.

"Maybe you could bring your own and we can jam a bit, between shifts?"

Connor gave it a thought, then nodded.

"Maybe, yeah. It definitely burns off some stress."

"Sure. And we can even ask Natalie and Latham to join in," Will added. Connor froze, the thought of his serious boss playing some song from the sixties on a hospital roof momentarily ridding his brain of any logical thought. Connor blinked, taken out of his brain freeze by a friendly pat on the shoulder.

"Man, that look was worth a thousand words," Will smirked, then let out a deep breath which quickly turned into a yawn.

"Thanks... for the nightmares," Connor grumbled good naturedly and Will shook his head.

"Nah, you gotta give the guy a chance. You heard him play. Someone who can play like that must love music. And rock and roll is the best music, right?" Will asked. Connor had to agree. Latham might've been serious as hell at work, but he was still human, and a human with a good ear. It might even be worth it to ask him, if only to see the look on his face. Connor chuckled, then rubbed at his eyes. They were starting to burn and it was a clear sign he needed some sleep. That and the giggly feeling that came after a night shift, when the body was starting to question whether the brain was sane for staying up so late.

Connor looked at his watch and was surprised to see that they'd been there well over half an hour.

"Looks like it's time to wrap this up. Thanks for letting me play," Connor said and Will gave him a nod.

"It was a nice finish to this crappy day, I'll give you that. And we should definitely do it again sometime soon..."

"Just make sure it'll also involve some alcohol and a bit warmer venue." Connor rubbed at his arms, only now feeling the morning chill. Will grabbed his guitar and they both headed back inside.

"Hey, do you think Ethan's any good with the drums?" Will asked just as the door closed behind them. A few minutes later, a small group of pigeons descended on the roof, happy to have back their peace and quiet.

The End


End file.
